Mr. Boutin, a 52-year-old lawyer, campaigned on a platform of building consensus with the five-member City Council, increasing funding for the police and annexing land west of Aberdeen, a century-old community of about 13,000.

During her term, Mrs. Elliott frequently clashed with council members on issues such as a new city charter and investigations of the city Police Department and its chief, Jack Jolley.

She was elected mayor in 1992 in the city's first popular election for that office. Previously, a board of commissioners appointed an honorary mayor from among council members.

In Aberdeen's council elections, Mary Lou Thompson, a political newcomer, and DeWayne Curry, a first-term incumbent, won two-year terms with 1,212 votes and 1,120 votes respectively. There was a field of six candidates.

The Havre de Grace council race pitted eight challengers for three seats on the six-member board.

The winners are Anna Jones Long, who was elected to her fifth term on the council with 725 votes; Henry J. Schreiber, manager of a credit card center and a retired policeman, who garnered 700 votes; and Joseph W. Kochenderfer, a retired mathematician-manager at Aberdeen Proving Ground, with 594 votes. They will serve two-year terms.

Annexation, the costs of municipal services, sewage plant improvements and tourism are issues the waterfront city of 9,000 will face in the next few years.

Of 4,323 registered voters, 1,284 cast ballots.

For the first time yesterday, voters used Harford County's new electronic voting system, allowing for a faster tabulation of the unofficial results.

County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann, who was in Aberdeen to observe the process, said several voters told her how easy and quick it was.